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Why an MLB All-Star once wore a $15 jersey with a number drawn in marker

Detroit's Lou Whitaker forgot his jersey and equipment in 1985 ... so he improvised

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Lou Whitaker was selected to the All-Star team five times ... and wore an authentic jersey four times in the game. (Credit: Getty Images)

For the 2025 All-Star Game, baseball's best players made their way to Atlanta, and when they arrived, their team jerseys were all hanging in their respective lockers.

But that's not how it worked 40 years ago, when players were responsible for packing their own uniforms and even gloves for travel to the Midsummer Classic.

On July 16, 1985, Detroit Tigers second baseman Lou Whitaker found himself in quite a pickle. He had forgotten his entire uniform in the back seat of his Mercedes back in Michigan. The game was being played in Minneapolis.

Whitaker realized his gaffe the day before the game, allowing the Tigers equipment manager to send off an extra jersey. However, disaster struck when that jersey got lost at the airport.

Hours before the game, Whitaker was still without a jersey to wear when he took the field as the starting second baseman for the American League. He was scheduled to hit second in the lineup against NL starter LaMarr Hoyt of the Padres.

Bob Miller, who worked in the Tigers media relations department, somehow found a Twins concessionaire who had a replica Tigers jersey for $15 with no number on the back. He bought a souvenir Detroit hat for $6 and brought the full ensemble to Whitaker.

Miller took Willie Hernandez's Tigers jersey — No. 21 — and traced the No. 1 on what would be Whitaker's shirt with a black marker.

The Twins lent Whitaker socks and a jock strap, and Cal Ripken Jr. let him use his backup glove. Whitaker had to tape it because Ripken had a Rawlings glove, and "Sweet Lou" had a contract with MacGregor.

Whitaker went hitless in two at-bats as the AL lost 6-1 at the Metrodome, extending a run of dominance for the NL, which won for the 14th time in 15 meetings.

Once he got out on the field, Whitaker didn't think about it.

"It's not the uniform," he said. "It's the man."

Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.